– Fix the camera. Use the camera. Accomplished! Well, accomplished-ish. One camera completely punked out after a mere few months (way to go, GE!) and the other is missing its memory card. Still, it can take a few shots at a time, so HUZZAH!

– Once again, polenta fries and prosecco… on the patio if it’s still open. My dream date: The Fella and I stroll over to the patio for snacks and drinks, carrying a basketball with us. Then we can pay our check, zip around the fence, and have a round of one-on-one at the neighboring hoops court.

– Woman, you have three bottles of fancy balsamic vinegar on the shelf. Stop hoarding it. Be lavish with it. Be extravagant with it. Be reckless with it! See if you can’t empty one bottle before the first snowfall.

– Experiment with a new scent or cologne. For more than half my life, I wore the same perfume, and my longtime [whatever] E. used to buy me a bottle of it every year — at my birthday or at Christmas. The first year after E. died, my mother bought me a bottle, and hugged me quietly when I burst out crying. As much history and love as there is in those memories, I don’t need to keep wearing them around my neck every day.Update: Check! This is a goal I’ve been turning over for some time, so within a few hours of writing it, I went to Demeter and ordered three small bottles of fresh, fun, or nostalgic colognes.

– Refinish and recover those two chairs Gaoo has been saving for you. They’ll look smashing.

– Turn the mattress! Done! Without my knowledge, even! Three days after I wrote this, The Fella mentioned in passing, “Hey, I saw your goals list, so I flipped the mattress.” Yes, I am very lucky.

– Get cracking on your Christmas list! (I already have one tiiiiiny little thing for The Fella, like a gleaming little coin in my pocket, and a new craft project that’s shaping up nicely. Who’s it for? Maybe for you!)

– Chocolate feet once a week! (Cryptic, no? I’ll explain this in a future post.)

In addition to these goals, after the luscious long days of summer, I’m ready to welcome crisp air and crunching leaves underfoot. A few of the autumnal joys I’m looking forward to:

– My online bookclub is reading Franny and Zooey, a book I re-read every few years without ever really getting to the core. After the very insightful discussion of Lolita, I’m eager to dig into F & Z.

– Cooler weather means using the oven more. More fresh bread, more coffeecake, more lasagna, more roasted vegetables, more of everything cozy and crispy and crumbly and warm.